Avatar Elysium
by Ixidor Alucard
Summary: 100 years ago, Avatar Roku was killed in the Avatar State by trying to protect the last airbenders. But what if the cycle wasn't broken? What if Aang, a boy born on Earth, was the new Avatar, and found his way back home? Avatar, with a whole new twist.
1. Chapter 1: Passing Through

**A/N: Avatar with a whole new twist. Enjoy, and R&R please.**

_**Prologue:**_

100 years ago, the four Nations lived in harmony. Then, the Fire Nation attacked. They killed all the airbenders, and in a final battle with the airbenders at the Southern Air Temple, the Avatar appeared. Avatar Roku went into the Avatar State, but was killed, thereby ending the Avatar cycle and killing the biggest threat to the Fire Nation's victory. However, some legends maintain that the Avatar was reincarnated, not into any of the four nations, but into someone from another place, another _world_...

**Present Day**

Aang woke with a start. He looked around and sighed. Another day. He wished life was like his dreams, he had had a good one last night; he had been soaring through the sky happily. But real life wasn't like his dreams. He had learned about that particular disappointment quickly enough. Since he was born, he had known nothing but disappointment.

His parents, for reasons beyond his understanding, hated him; so badly that they never tried to spend time with him, and took every opportunity to leave the house. Apparently, the idea of having another child like Aang was so revolting that they had never bothered to have another.

And despite all this, he tried so hard to make them love him. He killed himself studying all the time, and managed to get straight A's every year. But his parents still despised him. Then he trained daily so he could become athletic. He tried out for every sport, and he made it on many teams. But his parents never showed up to any of his games or competitions.

So that's why Aang was glad to find out he had been accepted to a private boarding school abroad. Because of his grades, getting in was no problem; and his parents were so happy to see him gone for a year or so. Aang had given up trying to impress them, and was happy to leave. He stopped practicing sports so hard, except for fencing, which he loved for some reason.

But the boarding school was extremely boring. The work was easy, and he soon found himself with a lot of free time. He made friends with everyone, and was considered popular, but he wasn't happy. Every day, before his head hit the pillow, he wondered what his purpose was. It couldn't be this. His existence was so arduous, he knew he had to have some purpose in life. Anything.

Aang decided to skip class that day. He had learned all the material for the course already, he could afford to skip it. As he walked out onto the grounds, he thought about what to do. After walking through the lush, green grass for a few minutes, he decided to take a nap. He spied a comfy looking elm that had a lot of shade, and lied down under it. He hoped he would dream about flying again. He liked flying.

_Aang could feel himself falling, but he didn't worry; it was probably part of his dream. Darkness enveloped him, and as he fell, he saw a small light, getting larger, and closer, as he fell right into it. _

"Princess!!!" a young boy, not more than fifteen, ran through a palace. The palace was beautifully built; the walls and ceilings loomed high, as the boy ran through a hallway. "Princess!" he yelled again. Where was she...? He burst into her room. "Princess?"

"What is it, Terran?" a young girl's voice rang out tough, but not unkindly. Terran swiveled on the spot. "Princess Bei Fong, there you are!" he ran in front of her bed and kneeled.

The Princess rolled her eyes and laid back down on her bed. "Come on, Terran, you've been my bodyguard for a year, and my friend for 10 years, you know you can call me Toph."

"Very sorry m'lady," Terran replied with a smile, "I was just talking to your parents, and they insist I call you by your surname."

"Whatever," Toph said lazily as she crossed her feet, "I'm guessing you have something to say, judging by the way you broke down my door?"

Terran nodded. He looked at Toph, and just now it seemed to dawn on him that she was still in her pajamas. "Princess, why aren't you changed?! The royal parade starts in two hours!" he said in shock.

"Oh, don't worry about the parade thing, I'll be ready in time." she said.

"Well, I hope so, because your parents sent me here to remind you about all your training. You know, how to wave, remember to smile, all that stuff." he grinned. "Boring stuff, isn't it?"

"Extemely." said Toph disdainfully, "I'll do my best not to disgrace my wonderful, loving parents."

"Don't worry Toph!" Terran said, trying to cheer her up, "Who knows, you might have a good time. You might even meet a special boy at the evening feast..."

"HEY!" she blushed furiously as Terran laughed.

He ran out of the Princess's room, dodging pillows all the way.

Aang opened his eyes groggily. Where was he...?


	2. Chapter 2: Parade

**A/N: So, chapter 2 up ! I like this story, so I'm going to keep going, R&R, and enjoy !**

Aang got up slowly. He looked around. The tree was still there, at least. But he wasn't at the boarding school anymore. There was lush foliage everywhere, as if the gardener decided to go on strike-for a century or two. A path led to where the boarding school was supposed to be, but where the boarding school was supposed to be, was a large castle, with many little houses and buildings surrounding it. A large wall encompassed the kingdom, for lack of a better word.

Aang's first response is that he was dreaming. After pinching himself, hitting himself, and smashing his head against the side of the tree, he was forced to come to the conclusion that he was awake. After a little bit of panicking, OK, a LOT of panicking, Aang tried to see the bright side of waking up in a whole new world.

Well, his life on Earth hadn't been too good. Maybe he would have better luck in this life.

He started walking in the direction of the castle. He heard firecrackers going on, and what sounded like people celebrating. It seemed like a good place to start.

Terran ran through the variety of dancers and performers. They were all warming up, getting ready for the parade that was about to take place. Terran groaned. He didn't have a lot of time, and if he didn't hurry the parade would be missing someone very important...

"Hey, looking for me?" Toph asked from behind him.

Terran jumped and whirled to face the smiling princess. "Toph!" He said, "The parade's going to start, where have you been?"

"I thought I would get some earthbending practice in," she said casually. She wore a long, billowing white dress. "Do I look OK?"

"Y-yeah," said Terran nervously, "Just go get to the float, the parade's starting in a few minutes." He ran towards the plaza to make sure everything was ready.

"You're going to be with me during the parade, right?" Toph asked him.

"Wouldn't miss it!" He shouted back after her.

Aang liked this place so far. "Welcome to the Kingdom of Gaoling!" A cheerful looking jester had said. Everyone was friendly, and there was a lot of games and parties. _Must be some kind of holiday, _Aang had thought. Something that bothered him, though, was that people had asked him to perform for them. Aang had to hastily make some excuse to escape every time. He _did_ look out of place; he wore jeans and a black jacket, and people here didn't exactly wear that. This place had a more medieval feel to it.

Aang walked into an equipment store. "Welcome, laddie," an old man said happily, "How can I help you today?"

"Uh, I need new clothes, please," Aang said nervously.

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Well, no question of that, laddie, but don't worry, we'll find something for you."

After about half an hour, Aang had been outfitted with the "modern style": a yellow shirt with a red cloak over it, yellow pants, a red belt, and light brown shoes. The old man even threw in a staff. Aang paid for it with his old clothes, who fascinated the man for some reason. Aang decided he didn't want to know.

Something that troubled Aang while he was changing was that he noticed he had blue tattoos all over his arms and legs. He had no idea how they got there; but then, he didn't know much of anything anymore.

Aang walked out onto the sidewalk when he saw people cheering. Dancers and jugglers were performing out on the plaza. As they did tricks and somersaults, a float came into view. Everyone kneeled in respect as trumpets sounded. Aang followed their lead and kneeled as someone announced, "Princess Toph Bei Fong!"

Everyone clapped and cheered as the float passed by. Aang craned his neck and stood on tiptoe to see the Princess.

She was about his age, he noticed. She was also very pretty. She waved and smiled, but Aang saw something in her eyes. Sadness, maybe? The throne she was sitting on was silver, and the float shined proudly through the plaza. The only thing out of place seemed to be the young boy sitting on the back of the float, armed with a sword, and looking quite bored with the proceedings. The float went on down the path.

Aang looked up at into the sky. This place, Gaoling, seemed like a good home...he came out of his reverie as he saw a man jump onto a rooftop. The man's big hat covered his face, and he wore a long green robe, with an insignia Aang didn't recognize. The man ran from rooftop to rooftop, and a few more dressed exactly like him appeared as well. They unsheathed small daggers.

They began running across the rooftops in the direction of the float.

A cold feeling passed through Aang. He looked around as saw that no one noticed the men approaching the Princess. Whatever they wanted, it couldn't be good. And though he didn't know anything about the Princess, he wasn't going to let her get hurt.

He pushed and shoved past the crowd. He had to warn her..."Princess!" he yelled. The men were closing in, getting ready to jump on the float...Aang gritted his teeth and pushed past the front of the crowd, and jumped onto the float.

His first reaction was surprise; the float was high, how did he make that jump? He pointed his staff at her, and she looked at him with defiance in her eyes. "Princess, you have to get out of here, you're in danger!" He said quickly.

The boy who had been sitting on the float got in between Aang and the Princess, and pointed his sword at Aang. "Put down your weapon, kid, nice and easy," Terran said angrily.

"No, you don't understand-" Aang said, as five of the men in green dropped down onto the float. Aang looked around, and whirled his staff.

Terran looked around at his surroundings. "The Dai Li?!" _Damn, there's too many of them..._"Princess, get out of here, I'll hold them off!" Terran said.

"Terran!" Toph said, as the two remaining men dropped behind her, and manacles shot out from their robes and held Toph to her throne. She struggled against the chains, but to no avail. Terran ran towards her, but was hit by a boulder. He went flying but managed to grab onto the edge of the moving float. Aang ran to where Terran was and helped him up.

"So you're on my side now?" Terran asked.

"I was never NOT on your side." Aang replied as he whacked a Dai Li away with his staff. He could hear people on the sidewalk yelling in horror. "So who are these Dai Li?"

"They're supposed to be the cultural protectors of our kingdom," Terran said as he flipped into the air and slashed at a Dai Li. "They're led by Long Feng, and they aren't the friendliest group of people. I don't understand why they would do this, though..."

Aang rolled to dodge a boulder and kicked a Dai Li off the float. "So, what's with the rock throwing? Magic?"

Terran stopped pummeling a Dai Li and asked incredulously, "They're earthbenders. Didn't you know? Earthbenders in Gaoling are a dime a dozen."

Aang blinked. "Uh, what's an earthbender?"

Terran threw the Dai Li he was holding and looked at Aang in shock. "You've never heard of benders? You know, earthbenders, firebenders, waterbenders, airbenders?"

Aang shrugged and shook his head as he ducked a blow from the last Dai Li. Terran grabbed the Dai Li and knocked him out. "You are one strange kid, you know that?" Terran asked Aang.

"You should talk," Aang muttered as he helped Terran free Toph. Toph glanced at Aang and Terran and said, "Thanks, you guys, I freaked out there, I don't know why I didn't start earthbending right away."

"No worries," Terran replied, "That's what I'm here for." He turned to face Aang. "You, though...how did you know the Dai Li were going to attack?"

"I-" Aang was suddenly grabbed from behind by two tall soldiers. "Whoa, whoa, back off!" Terran yelled at them.

"This boy attacked the Princess, and the penalty is death," a soldier said, confused.

"Leave him alone! He helped me!" Toph said angrily.

"Yes, Princess!" the soldiers let go of Aang and kneeled in front of her.

Terran looked at them all. "You guys get here way too late, and try to arrest one of the few people that actually helped the Princess? The Dai Li are probably getting away. Go be soldiers while you still have jobs!"

Half the soldiers bowed and hastily ran off. The other half stayed to escort Terran, Toph, and their new friend Aang to the palace.

Sunset. A Dai Li stealthily made his way to his commander's house. Long Feng was waiting for him. He didn't look happy.

"Sir, our mission did not go as planned. Our attempt to assassinate the Princess Bei Fong failed." Why did I have to be the one to report this...? The Dai Li asked himself.

Long Feng crushed a pillar in anger. "And the Dai Li are being held responsible?"

"The Princess and her bodyguard are going to speak to the King and Queen now." The Dai Li replied. 

Long Feng cursed under his breath. The Dai Li shifted uneasily, and said, "Sir, maybe we shouldn't go forward with the plan? The Princess is a problem-"

"A problem that will be destroyed, along with any that stand in our way!" Long Feng said angrily. "We go forward with our plan, but we do it tonight. Gaoling will wake up under the rule of the Dai Li."

The Dai Li nodded, and disappeared among the rooftops.

**A/N: Who knows what Long Feng is planning? And what will this mean for Aang and his friends? Chapter 3 coming soon**


	3. Chapter 3: Departure

**A/N: The story continues...R&R please !**

Aang looked around at his new apartment. It was small, but for one person, it would be comfortable. He plopped down on the bed, tired. "Ahhhh, this is comfy!" He sighed happily.

Terran chuckled and said, "Glad you like it." He looked out the small window and nodded at a soldier patrolling the area. "Sorry about all the soldiers, but you've been classified as a very important person." He said.

"A VIP?" Aang asked.

"What?" Terran asked, unfamiliar with the Earth term.

"Never mind," Aang said quickly, "But I thought that everyone decided I don't know anything?" And it was true; Aang remembered having to be interrogated and repeating his story a million times.

Terran nodded. "Yeah, but this is for your safety. I think the Dai Li are going to try to attack you. They can't be happy about their failed attempt on the Princess's life." He looked out the window in the direction of the palace. "Sorry she couldn't be here, but she had business with her parents."

"Why would the Dai Li do this?" Aang asked.

Terran scoffed. "Who knows? I imagine it's because of Long Feng. He's power-hungry, and it seems his greed has finally gotten the best of him." Worry passed through his eyes. "And the Dai Li are powerful….I wouldn't be surprised if they try something tonight. They already know suspicion is on them."

"Then let's fight them!" Aang said determinedly.

Terran shook his head. "The King and Long Feng have been good friends for a long time. Besides, Long Feng has been calling the shots lately, and the King and Queen no longer have the power to stop him. Even if they could, I doubt they would. But the people here are loyal to the royal family. That's why I worry for them, and for the Princess." He ran to the door.

"I've spent too much time here," he said anxiously. "I have to get back to the Princess. I hope you like your new place."

"Thanks," Aang called after him, "And remember, if anything happens, I'm always willing to help."

Terran nodded. "I'll remember that," he said as he ran out the door, and towards the palace.

Night. The Dai Li marched through the sidewalk, Long Feng leading them. The guards at the palace made to stop them, but Long Feng simply walked on as a pair of Dai Li shot chains through the guards, and they crumpled to the floor.

Long Feng burst open the door to the throne room. King Bei Fong and his wife looked at him in shock. "Long Feng, what are you doing?!" The King asked, shocked.

"I'm doing what I've been waiting years for. Taking control of Gaoling!" He replied triumphantly. "Can you hear the battle raging outside?" Shouts and bangs echoed through the palace. "The men loyal to you are fighting valiantly in your name, but my Dai Li will have them exterminated soon enough."

"W-why are you doing this?" the Queen asked in horror. Long Feng let out a sadistic laugh. "Because, you fools made it all too easy for me. I have worked so hard to become what I am now, but one thing has always eluded me; the crown of Gaoling. Now I will have it." Dai Li stormed into the throne room and shot chains around the King and Queen.

"I, Long Feng, am the new king."

Terran slashed away at the Dai Li. They were everywhere. He saw his men fall around him. They were strong, but the Dai Li outnumbered them….

Terran's blade was knocked out his hands by Long Feng. "I'm sorry, Terran Taillias, I cannot allow you to alert the Princess. You will not save her this time."

Five Dai Li surrounded him, and Long Feng simply said, "Kill him."

Terran shot up a barrier of earth to block their blows. "You won't have the Princess," Terran said angrily, "While I still live!" He threw shards of rock at the Dai Li as he ran towards the Princess's room. A Dai Li got in front of him and tried to attack, but Terran ducked and snapped the man's neck like a twig. He ran on.

Long Feng gave chase, sending rocks flying after Terran as he ran down the hallway. The hallway he had run not 12 hours ago, when he had to warn the Princess of the parade. Now, he was warning her of something much more important.

"AGH!" Terran cried as a boulder finally hit its mark. He was knocked into a wall. He tried to get up, but Long Feng kicked him back down, and sent a rock at his head. It took all of Terran's strength to deflect the rock, and he summoned the last of his power to cave the hallway in, as he limped towards the Princess's room.

"Princess!" Terran shouted as he burst into her room.

"Ugh…what's going on…?" Toph asked sleepily.

Terran shook her. "Princess, listen to me. You're in danger. You need to leave here now."

"W-What?" she asked, apprehensive.

"Long Feng's come. He and the Dai Li have taken your parents, and they've taken over the kingdom. Me and the other soldiers are doing all we can, but we can't win. You need to leave Gaoling!"

Toph got up quickly. "He's got my parents! I have to help fight!"

"LISTEN TO ME!!" Terran shouted, "I have to protect you! Long Feng will murder you. Do you understand that? Huh?! Listen, here's what you need to do, leave Gaoling, and head for Ba Sing Se. The Earth King won't stand for this. He'll send us an army, he'll help us. We'll buy you time to leave, but leave now."

The doors burst open for the second time that night, and Long Feng came in. "You are lucky, Princess. You are the third person I have had to personally kill tonight." He held a vial in his hands. "I have wanted to try this new chemical, of my own invention. A fast, deadly, poison."

Terran's eyes widened. "Toph, go now!" He shouted as he ran at Long Feng. Long Feng knocked him away, and moved towards Toph. Toph ran towards the window, in the hopes of jumping through and landing in the bushes below. Long Feng made it there before her, but as he made to pour the vial down her throat, Terran tackled him.

Long Feng's aim was off, so the contents of the vial hit Toph in her eyes.

She fell through the window, searing pain tearing her eyes apart. She could feel the poison killing her optic nerves, ripping through them like tissue. She fell among the bushes and got up. She started running, to the only person left to help her.

Aang was sleeping comfortably when Toph came in through the window. She fell through and let out a yell, and Aang woke with a start.

"Princess!" He said, surprised, "What are you doing here?" He looked at himself in embarrassment, and put on his only shirt.

"Aang, something horrible's happened," she said, as the tears she had been holding back began to flow freely down her face. She ran at him, and hugged him.

Aang blushed, and hugged her back. "They took everything," Toph sobbed, "And now I'm all alone. Not even Terran's here to help me anymore."

"Hey," Aang said, pulling away from her and brushing her bangs past her forehead, "You're not alone, you've still got me."

"Thanks," she said through her tears, "But now, I don't know if I can do this, even with your help." She lit a lamp near Aang's bed and looked him in the eyes. Her lush green eyes had faded a bit, and were completely pale green in some places. "I'm going blind, Aang." She said, sadly.

"Toph…" He was sad to see what had happened to his friend. "I promise, whatever you need help with, I'll help you."

She sniffled. "Will you come with me?"

"Where do you have to go?" he asked.

Toph explained all that happened while Aang packed. He didn't have a lot of stuff; but he needed to think about Toph. Food, water…he didn't have a lot. But it would have to do.

She had stopped crying, and was ready to take on the challenge of the journey. She even seemed a little excited. "Well, let's get going! The sooner we leave, the better." Toph said as she started walking out the door.

Aang eyed her outfit skeptically. "You really want to go dressed like that?"

She yelled out as she noticed she was still wearing her nightgown. "OK, we'll need to stop by the equipment man's house, and get some new clothes for me." She said, and ran out of the apartment. Looking around to make sure there were no Dai Li, she ran ahead of Aang towards the shop.

"Hey, are you sure we can go at this hour?" Aang said nervously as he ducked behind a house.

"Yeah, it's no problem. He runs an underground weapons market, so he's always open for business. He's also an old friend of mine." She replied as she ran into the shop through the back entrance.

The old man greeted the Princess and Aang heartily. When he heard about their problem, he agreed to help them out. He outfitted Toph with a metal green headband and a long green and yellow tunic, and green anklets and shoes. After thanking the man many times, Toph and Aang were on their way out of Gaoling, and took the eastern path, towards Ba Sing Se.

"Katara, why are we going all the way to Gaoling?" A disgruntled young man, about sixteen, plopped down on the ground. He put his bag next to him.

The girl named Katara frowned at him. "We've been over this already, Sokka. Gaoling put in an order for our seal jerky, and we have to go deliver it. And they're paying us a lot of gold pieces, so no complaining!"

"Easy for you to say," Sokka retorted, "I don't see you helping me carry all this." He pointed at the bulging bag of seal jerky.

"Hey, who cooked the seal jerky? And I never came to help you; I just came to make sure you didn't mess anything up. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be the big, strong man of the tribe." Katara replied as she sat down next to him. "I guess we can turn in tonight, we've covered a lot of ground today, and it's dark. So sleep well, because tomorrow we reach Gaoling!"

Sokka lied down, and shouted, "And get paid!!"


	4. Chapter 4: Seeing and Seal Jerky

Katara woke up happily. Today they would reach Gaoling, deliver the seal jerky, and get their gold pieces. She turned to Sokka. "Sokka, wake up! It's time to get going!"

Sokka grumbled and muttered, "Five more minutes…"

"Sorry, we have to go now!!" Katara took out a small vial of water and sent a stream at Sokka. He spat and got up quickly.

"What was that for?!" He asked angrily as Katara giggled.

"Sorry, sleepyhead, we have to get going."

Sokka's stomach grumbled. "Come on, at least let me get some breakfast." He reached for the bag of seal jerky.

"WHOA, what do you think you're doing?" Katara said as she stopped him, "We're professionals now, no eating the merchandise!"

Sokka groaned, "FINE, I'll go find us something to eat." He grabbed his machete and walked deeper into the forest.

"Wait, you aren't going to hunt down some cute little animal, are you?" Katara asked nervously.

"I'm not going to use this machete as a butter knife, that's for sure," Sokka said as he walked. Katara opened her mouth to say something, but she decided better of it. She was hungry, too. She walked off to find a pond or something; they would need water of some sort, and maybe she could practice her waterbending.

Aang and Toph kept walking. The sun rose slowly in the sky. Toph cried out.

"The sun! Where is it going?" Toph said, scared.

"What are you talking about?" Aang asked, "It's right there."

"I…I can't see it anymore." She looked around. "I can't see anything!" The poison had worked its course. She began to cry the tears she couldn't see, as she fell to the ground.

"Toph!" Aang ran to her side, "Come on, get up, it's ok…"

"How can you say that?" she asked him, "I'm blind now, how am I going to be any good on this journey? I can't do anything anymore."

Aang held her and said furiously, "That's not true. You can do anything, even if you're blind. It doesn't make a difference, do you understand? I believe in you, and your people are counting on you. I know you can do it."

Toph nodded. "Okay, I'll try my best, Aang. But…" She laid down. "I'm tired."

"We have to keep going." Aang said, "We have to put as much distance between us and Gaoling as we can."

"Can't we stop, only for a little?" She muttered quietly.

Aang looked at her. She was strong, but she wasn't invincible. "Sleep, Toph."

Toph nodded as she fell asleep. Aang sighed. She was beautiful when she was asleep. Wait, what was he saying…? Toph was his friend. He picked her up and started walking.

"Sleep, Toph, but we have to keep going." He said quietly. "Sleep well, and don't worry, I'll protect you."

Toph muttered something in her sleep, something Aang probably wouldn't have heard if she hadn't so close to him.

_I know you will._

Aang smiled, and kept walking.

Katara had to admit, she was one hell of a waterbender. She never had a master, and yet she could bend pretty well, as the forms in the pond proved. She kept moving the water to take many shapes: a badger-mole, an armadillo-bear…

But she had to get going, she had filled her pot of water, and Sokka would probably be back at their campsite by now. She made her way back to the clearing. As she saw a rabbit scamper by, she couldn't help but hope Sokka's hunting skills were as lousy on land as they were in the ocean.

After a while, Aang's stomach rumbled. He looked into his bag. "Aah, we should have packed more food, huh, Toph?" He asked the sleeping princess. Toph mumbled in her sleep. "We shouldn't have traded all our food, but we needed your clothes…don't worry, Toph, I'll find us something." He didn't get far, though; exhaustion finally took its toll on him, and he put Toph down carefully. Then he fell to the ground and started snoring.

Toph woke up. "Aang?" she asked.

Nothing. "Aang?!" she asked, with a little more fear in her voice. One of her shoes slipped off as she got up, and what she felt rocked her world. She felt something, she _saw…_but what? She took off her other shoe and planted both feet on the ground. She could feel…vibrations, for lack of a better word. She had never felt so connected to the earth. She felt something's vibrations lying on the ground next to her. As she touched the something, she realized it was Aang. He must have fallen asleep, she thought.

Her stomach rumbled. "I guess we shouldn't have traded all our food away, but we really needed my clothes…don't worry, Aang, I'll find us some food!" she said as she ran off into the forest.

Getting used to her new kind of sight took practice. After crashing into many trees and stumbling into many bushes, she finally found a way to distinguish the vibrations of different objects. Soon she was running through the forest effortlessly. She felt a lack of trees up ahead, which meant a clearing. She felt a tent, and a large bulging bag in the middle of the clearing. A salty smell wafted from the bag. "Food!" She said happily as she walked towards the bag.

She looked inside the bag and pulled out a strip of seal jerky. "I wonder what this is…" she said, and she took a bite out of it. It tasted like jerky, but it wasn't any kind of meat she had ever eaten.

Well, whatever it was, it was good. She started eating more and more, she couldn't get enough of the delicacy. She felt the weight of the bag lessen the more she ate, and finally it didn't weigh much at all. She felt around for anything else, but she had eaten almost the entire bag. "Mmm, that was good!" She said, satiated, "But I better save some for Aang." She heard a voice call out in the distance. "Toph!" the voice yelled.

Aang? "Aang, I'm over here!" she shouted back. Aang ran into the clearing, and tripped.

Toph laughed, her voice tinkling like bells. "Nice job, Twinkle Toes."

"Toph!" Aang sighed with relief. "What are you doing here?"

"Finding food for us," she exclaimed, "Look, I saved you some weird jerky!"

"Toph, this stuff isn't ours, we can't go around eating other people's-"

Toph stuck a piece of jerky in his mouth. "That's some good jerky!" he said after he swallowed it.

"Told you," she said.

"HEY!" a voice cried angrily. Toph and Aang turned to see a boy with a strange ponytail and blue clothes come into the clearing. "You ate all our seal jerky!!"

A young girl appeared as well. "HEY, we had to go sell that! What's the matter with you?"

"Told you…" Aang said to Toph. He turned to the girl and boy. "Listen, I'm really sorry about this, but we really needed the food."

"ALL of it??" the boy asked furiously.

"It's okay," the girl said calmly, "We understand."

"Thank you," Aang said gratefully.

"Of course, you're just going to have to pay for all the seal jerky you ate. Which comes out to about three-hundred gold pieces."

"WHAT?!" Toph shouted, "We don't have that kind of money!"

Aang slapped his forehead. Three hundred gold pieces…

"Don't you know who I am?" Toph said, "I'm the Princess of Gaoling!"

"Gaoling?" The girl asked, "That's where we were going to go sell our jerky."

"Believe me, you wouldn't have been able to," Aang said, and he told them about all the events of the past night, with some interjections and commentary from Toph.

"Wow, I'm really sorry all that's happened to you," said the girl quietly after Aang had finished.

"I'm not," said Sokka. Toph glared at him.

"Well, we're going to have to follow you around until you pay us back." the girl said casually.

"WHAT?!" Toph, Aang, and Sokka all yelled.

"Well, Sokka, we can't go back to the tribe until we have the money…" she told her brother.

"Grr…" Sokka said, but she was right. They had gone to all that trouble with the jerky, and everyone in the tribe had pitched in. To come back empty-handed wouldn't only be dishonorable, it would be wrong.

"I'm Katara," she introduced herself and pointed to her brother, "And this is my annoying older brother, Sokka."

"I'm Aang." Aang said as they shook hands.

"Toph." Toph said simply.

"Are you really sure you want to come with us?" Aang asked, "It isn't going to be fun."

Katara shrugged. "We're only coming along to get our money. As soon as we do, we'll get out of your hair."

"OK," Aang said, "We'd better get going, then." Sokka and Katara nodded as they packed up their supplies.

"You sure it's a good idea to let them come with us?" Toph asked.

"Who knows," Aang said, "But it can't hurt."

Katara came up to him. "OK, let's get going."

Aang nodded, and the group walked deeper into the forest.

**A/N: So Toph learns to "see", and the whole gaang finally meets. ** **Chapter 5 should be up soon, R&R please**


End file.
